


"Replacement" Date

by Sakurucha



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Amusement Parks, F/M, Fluff, Spoilers, theme park shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 07:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7925230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurucha/pseuds/Sakurucha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saeran gets dragged out for a date to a theme park under the pretense that Saeyoung is too busy to accompany her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Replacement" Date

Saeran woke to the sound of gentle knocking at his door.

Of the two people who might come to his room, only one of them had the decency to knock.

“Saeran, are you awake?” Her voice came through, just barely audible.

As he pried himself from his bed, he glanced at his clock: 7:15am. Sighing, he dragged himself to the door and opened it. “… Hn.” In other words, _it’s way too early for a casual visit_. He rubbed at the corner of one of his eyes sleepily, awaiting an explanation.

Sun tested her luck. Removing her hand from behind her back, she flashed him two tickets. “Do you think you have time to go out with me today? I have these tickets to a theme park, but they’re going to expire soon and I don’t want them to go to waste…”

Saeran raised an eyebrow. “… Theme park?”

“Mhm! It’s a place with lots of rides, interesting food, games… stuff like that. It’s no fun if you go alone, though… “ She kept speaking, cutting him off before he could interject. “S-Saeyoung is too busy to come with me, so… Please, Saeran? I swear it’ll be fun, and it’s always good to try new things, now that you can…” Or, she might have been implying, it wasn’t healthy for him to shut himself away in his room like this, considering the only times he left was when she invited him to go somewhere with her. Just like this.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, his expression humorless while hers wore an innocent, hopeful smile.

_Damn it._

His first response was a second, or maybe third, sigh since waking. It was getting increasingly difficult for him to deny her, especially when she looked at him with such anticipation. Though he knew she was rather transparent and oblivious, sometimes he wondered if she knew how powerful those smiles of hers really were. “Fine. I’ll be out in a second.”

The joy that spread through her face before he shut the door to get dressed made him think this frustratingly early outing might be worthwhile.

 

When they first entered the park, Sun led Saeran off to a less trodden path. She knew that he would be uncomfortable; though she purposely picked an off-season to avoid the potentially nerve-breaking crowds, this place still had larger crowds than their everyday outings. Even away from the majority of the people he walked close at her side, practically shoulder to shoulder with her for the slightest sense of security.

Noticing his eyes dart around, Sun tapped his hand with hers gently to get his attention. “Why don’t we sit down for a few minutes? It was quite a trip to get here, after all…”

“… Y-yeah.” He looked down at her hand. While at first it looked like she would take his, instead she timidly stretched her fingers, rolled her shoulder, and let her hand swing idly at her side. She seemed more… conscious of herself today.

He didn’t broach the subject as she led him to a quiet bench and patted the spot at her side. They sat there together in silence for a few minutes. She gave him his space, and he took the opportunity to breathe and settle.

Once his breathing steadied, he watched her as she stared off into the distance, a difficult expression on her face. Her breathing was a tad shallower than usual, lips pressed together just a bit… And a faint dust of pink on her cheeks.

He furrowed his brow; did she look that way because she was here with him? Was she upset that he couldn’t freely enjoy himself with her, laughing and having fun like all those others? Perhaps she was frustrated with him…

When his gaze finally drew her attention, though, she was all smiles, looking up at him with sparkling eyes. It was as if that conflicted expression had never been there at all. “Saeran,” she began as she pulled out the map, laying it down on her lap at an angle where he could see, “is there anything you’d like to try first?” She traced the map with her forefinger, explaining to him the various attractions. He heard her speak, but the words fell on deaf ears as he focused instead on her. Just _her_.

Her fingers, gentle little things that comforted him in the past months since he came to stay with Saeyoung again… They were tracing the map, but he thought about the softness of her palms in the way she would hold his, the delicacy of her fingertips as she traced her lips in thought, how he wished they might be tracing _him_ instead–

God, no. What the hell was wrong with him? It was too early for this…

“… Earth to Saeran? Come in?” He couldn’t deny that he was glad she snapped him out of imaginations.

He cleared his throat quietly. “What were you talking about..?”

Though there were many people laughing nearby, a laughter foreign to his ears, their laughter confirmed for him that hers was the only one that rang like music in his ears. She chuckled at his spaciness there beside him, offering him that comparison. “I was asking if anything caught your interest.”

_You_ , he thought, but immediately swatted that idea away. “We came here for you… So, I don’t care.”

She blinked a few times before a broad grin spread across her face and she quickly rose to stand. “Oh… Well, alright then! I, your dear friend, shall be your generous guide through this land of amusement!” She raised her hand in mock salute, giggling at her silly little declaration.

_God, she sounds like Saeyoung. I thought we left him at home._

Saeran huffed wordlessly in response, standing along with her. He was a tad caught off guard when she took his hand in hers, threading her fingers between his. So, he was wrong about her being self-aware. “We can’t have you getting lost, right?”

“I… I guess,” he stammered, watching their interlocked hands gently swing between them.

For her first order of business, she managed to have him join her on a few of the rides with shorter lines. They walked, looking for their next target, until they passed a large collection of carnival games. “Oooh, look at those~.” Her attention was drawn to a game stall with huge, practically human-sized, plush dogs as prizes. She sighed softly, though, pressing a hand to her cheek.

He looked at her questioningly in response.

She shook her head quickly, realizing her mistake. “Oh, nothing! I just… they’re really cute… but I… erm, do you want to try anyway?” She fixed a little smile on her face, trying to hide her disappointment. With her luck, she would fail miserably without even the tiny one as a consolation prize.

After all, it was a ring toss game, and she had terrible, terrible, terrible aim.

He watched her expression, noting that it was somehow related to those plushes. She actually wanted one of those giant… stuffed… things didn’t she? “Why not,” he replied flatly. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted her to stop frowning like that. Hopefully, winning that weird, giant plush would make her stop.

He groaned to himself internally at the thought.

She, of course, failed her two attempts, just as expected–none of the rings even hit the bottles, let alone came near them. He was amazed, but now her apprehension made perfect sense. If he knew he was that atrocious, he wouldn’t have been particularly eager either.

When he tried, by sheer dumb luck he was doing incredibly well. Each of the rings managed to cleanly circle the bottles, twirling hopefully as each settled at the bottom. As he held his last ring, Sun stood beside him, eagerly watching with both her hands on her cheeks with the thrill of anticipation.

He tossed the last ring, not thinking much of it; even if this one missed, they were sure to at least get something… and she seemed to be enjoying herself well enough.

This ring, unlike the others, nicked the bottle with its inner edge; it nearly spun off, but like the others soon came to smoothly glide down the bottle to victory. She heaved a huge breath that was quickly overtaken with ecstatic laughter. “Woah! That’s amazing!”

“… Was it?”

She guffawed. “Definitely! Did you see how badly I did?!”

_Oooh yeah, I wouldn’t let you embarrass yourself like that again._

He at least knew better than to voice that thought aloud.

Saeran crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the giant plush that the man quickly went to bring down for him. Right as the man gave it to Saeran, Sun looked between him and the plush before speaking in a meek voice.

“Can… can I have it? Please?”

_You don’t need to ask. I was going to give it to you anyway, stupid…_

He thrust it towards her, looking away. “I… don’t care.”

She, on the other hand, was thrilled. “Really?! Ah, thank you so much! You’re the best!” She took the plush in her arms, cuddling it tightly and squeezing it against her chest. It was rather unwieldy, especially to have won so early on in the day, but she was determined to find a way to make it work.

He blushed when she accepted it, deciding that maybe it wasn’t so bad to make her that happy because of something so… insignificant, to him.

He wasn’t overstepping any boundaries with this, right?

 

When they passed a cotton candy stand, Saeran abruptly stopped, pulling Sun back with him. He stared at it, eyes aglow with… curiosity. She smiled at him, fixing herself beside him. “Do you want to try it?”

“What… is it?” They moved closer, his eyes still inquisitive and a tad suspicious of the poofy, colorful things that called themselves “candy.”

She giggled softly. “It’s best to try it out if you’re curious.” With that, she took out her wallet and went straight for the clerk with Saeran tailing behind her. A fan enough of candy herself, she settled on the largest size, having Saeran hold it for her while she finished paying. The two of them then found a bench, Saeran staring at the puffy candy the whole time.

What she didn’t tell him was that it was crackling cotton candy… but that was part of the surprise. He’d forgive her.

… Probably.

After they sat down together, she plucked a piece of cotton candy from the stick, holding it in front of Saeran’s mouth. “Aaah.”

“Wh-what.”

“C’mon, open your mouth, please?” she asked with an imploring little pout.

_Did she really have to say please?_

The more he resisted, the longer they stayed in this pose; and from what he knew after watching her and his brother, this wasn’t a pose you really wanted to be seen in, as it was pretty damn embarrassing… But he didn’t feel like totally rejecting her, either. The sooner he relented, the sooner she would stop.

_Just this time…_

After a minute or so he decided to give in to her demands. “A-ah…”

She placed the candy in his mouth with a laugh, now watching him closely. At first, he wasn’t very impressed; but then he furrowed his brows when the candy disappeared, fading into sweetness. He was about to say something, but was startled by the sudden pop! pop! popping in his mouth. “M-mmfgh?!”

She couldn’t stop herself from bursting into a giggle fit at his reaction. The way his eyes widened in shock, maybe near horror, was just too much to bear; she found his surprised expression all too endearing and strongly resisted the urge to immediately reach out and pinch his cheeks.

He, on the other hand, furrowed his brows, sullen in his confusion and in mild frustration to be the target of her laughter… again… As seemed to often happen when he visibly reacted. “Wh-what the hell is that..?!”

“Crackling candy!” She explained with a broad smile, clearly still amused and oblivious to the extent of her crimes. “It’s weird and feels funny, but it’s totally safe… and pretty tasty, in a weird way.” She blinked at him, tilting her head. “I’m sorry I laughed… you were just too adorable not to…!”

_A-adorable. Couldn’t she at least pick a better way to say it?_

After apologizing for the unexpected candy several more times, they ate together in… relative peace. Saeran was still a little surprised every time the candy popped in his mouth until the last bite, and his face was rather red by the end both from embarrassment at how she insisted on feeding him.

 

Sun, ever the fount of great ideas, next decided they should go through the haunted house.

What was an attempt to scare Saeran with that eerie attraction completely backfired when she was the one terrified from nearly the beginning, her hands too full with the stuffed puppy to cling to his hand for support.

His hand felt cold now, he thought to himself, glaring in the darkness at the plush animal that dare steal her attention from him. Sure, he might have won it for her, and perhaps she was clinging to it so desperately because it was from him… but… that wasn’t the same, and he was the one suffering for it. Very unfair.

As they walked along through the maze, he shifted his gaze from the puppy to watch her, raising an eyebrow. “… Are you seriously afraid?”

“S-sh! Of course not..!” In an attempt to be brave, she approached a mirror and stared into it. “Well, this isn’t so… A-aHH!” While she was in the middle of trying to talk some bravery into herself, the image in the trick mirror changed from her own reflection to that of a monster that then pounced out at her before she could flee back to Saeran’s side. That monster stopped immediately in front of her face before she pulled herself together and ran back to Saeran’s side, clutching the plush tightly to her chest and hiding slightly behind him. “G-god…!”

Yep, really jealous of that plush right now. Winning that thing was a huge mistake, her happiness at receiving it be damned.

She was still a whimpering little mess when they exited the haunted house. Impressive.

“O… Okay! I know the perfect way to unspook myself!”

“Mhm…”

She pointed at the roller coaster in the distance. Saeran glanced between it and her, repeating this a few times. Though he said nothing, she knew he was thinking something along the lines of how he didn’t understand why the hell she wanted to go on it.

“You have to! It’s not a theme park trip unless you do! Pleaaase?” She was begging him with that “please” a lot today, wasn’t she. Nonetheless, again he sighed and relented when she tugged his hand softly in her own, dragging him towards the line for the ride.

_Last time I’ll give in to that_ , he swore to himself.

 

She bounced giddily beside him after, swinging their hands between them. “So? How was it?”

“I don’t understand the point.”

“It’s exciting! You do it for the thrill and the adrenaline, you know?”

“… No.”

She puffed her cheeks just a tiny bit. “Well… how did it feel for you?”

“Funny.”

Well, that was the best answer she was probably going to get from him… or, so she thought.

He paused to think before continuing in a slow, measured voice. “… I guess I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime.” He held his tongue before he added on any words he might regret later. Next time she came somewhere like this, he figured she would probably be enjoying herself with Saeyoung. The thought made his stomach drop, killing any of the faint thrill he felt before and souring his mood completely. He huffed, glaring away from her.

“… Saeran? Is something wrong?”

“Nah, doesn’t matter.”

After that, she spent the rest of daylight practically dragging him around the park with her. Honestly it was pretty tiring, considering he wasn’t used to so much activity; on the other hand, though his face didn’t show it, he might say he was enjoying himself. Any time he got to spend with her, especially when she wore such a relaxed and friendly expression, was all he thought to ask of the world.

Though, he did feel that perhaps he shouldn’t have been enjoying his time with her so much… It would be wrong of him to hope for anything more.

Near the end of the day, she spotted the Ferris wheel and stopped to stare at it. It was huge, he noticed; it towered over the rest of the theme park and was quite dazzling, especially with how the huge wheel was lit with shifting patterns of colorful lights that shone brightly against the night sky. He hazarded a glance at her eyes; she looked utterly enchanted with it, eyes relaxed in awe as her mouth fell just slightly open.

“Is.. it okay if we ride that last before we leave?” He detected hesitation in her request, perhaps for the first time that day since asking him to join her for this excursion. Something about being on that ride made her nervous. He glanced at the giant wheel again. Did you ride in those little carts?

Ah, she didn’t want to be in an enclosed space with him like that. That must have been it.

He sighed, self-deprecatingly, which surprised her a bit. “Why don’t you just go alon–”

“N-no!” She answered too loudly before clearing her throat and looking away. “I… I mean, it’s just not right to go by yourself, you know? We should go together! It’s one of the highest Ferris wheels, you know, so we’ll be able to get a great view… Please?”

He sighed. Again, begging him please.

“…Fine.”

 

“Saeran, isn’t the view beautiful? I’m sure at the top it’ll be even better!” Her eyes shone like the lights around them as she practically pressed her face to the glass. He watched her, not the view outside. She felt his unwavering gaze, frowning with gentle concern when her attention turned to focus on him. “Is something the matter? You don’t look so happy… Are you not having fun?”

Rather than respond to her question directly, he averted his gaze. Sulking, he spoke. “I’m sure you would have had more fun if Saeyoung was able to come here with you…”

Those words came as a bit of a surprise. She, for one, had been thoroughly enjoying her time with him. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just the replacement date, right? If he hadn’t been busy… You would have gone with him.” He sighed to himself, frustration clearly bubbling in his voice; whether that was frustration with her, himself, or Saeyoung, that was uncertain. Maybe all of the above.

She shook her head in response, frown deepening. “Saeran… I’m happy to be here with you, believe me.” A shy, somewhat guilty smile tugged at her lips. “I-if I’m going to be honest… this morning, I lied to you.” She lied? “I… I never intended to come with Saeyoung. I meant to ask you from the start. I just… said that Saeyoung couldn’t come with me because I thought you would be more likely to accept my invitation rather than tell me to just go with him or something…”

Well, that wasn’t something he expected to hear from her, but he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Even so… say that’s true. What _exactly_ do I mean to…” _To you_. “No, that’s a stupid question… Forget I asked anything.”

He nearly jumped when he felt her hands enclose one of his. “I love you very much.”

“… A man can misinterpret that.” He wore a deadpan expression, trying to deny the thrill those words gave him. She couldn’t… possibly love him the same way he reluctantly finally admitted to himself he loved her. All he thought to do was push her away, call her out for her pity, not trust her… to save himself, he thought. No, to save her from making a mistake.

However, she adamantly held her ground, leaning towards him just slightly. “Go ahead.”

“You’re… an idiot.”

“That’s fine.” Under her steady, honest gaze, he gulped and pulled back as much as he could manage.

“… Empty words for an empty head. What makes you think I’m just going to believe you like that? I’m not that damn naive…”

“So, you want me to prove it?”

He scoffed. “How are you going to do that?”

She fell silent. So, she had no way to prove it; figures. At least this time he was able to save himself from the disappointment of sentimentality taking advantage of the weaknesses in his heart…

Or, so he thought, until she slowly, carefully made her move.

She closed the distance between them, one of her hands loosely tugging at his sleeve at the upper arm. He stared at her in shock, eyes wide as they can go.

Her lips were soft. So soft against his chapped, slightly broken ones.

But they were gone all too quickly, leaving him only with his confusion, the residual warmth, the slightest taste of _her_ , and… a feeling of absence.

“You don’t have to believe me, but… I really do love you,” she breathed against his lips before slowly pulling away, her eyes locked on his. Her hand slid from his shoulder down his arm to rest on his hand again; despite the autumn chill, his arm was aflame with her touch and he… really wasn’t sure what to do.

This was not how he expected his day to go.

His mind was reeling from the kiss, blank as it desperately struggled to progress what this meant for him. Why did she do that? She wouldn’t simply press her lips to anyone’s like that, would she? Then why him? Why did he feel all warm now, yet frozen, frustrated, but… happy? Was he happy? His heart was beating a mile a minute, face flushed completely red, and he swore he was going to faint. Maybe.

Still he was still trying to retain a semblance of his normal stoicism, though he refused to look at her again. “… Why?”

She laughed under her breath and shrugged. “I… I don’t know. I don’t even know when it started, but I guess it was too late by then,” she mused aloud, staring out the window as the little carriage began its descent.

Her gaze had finally slipped away from his, allowing him to glance at her as she focused on something, or perhaps anything, in the distance. Even in this darkness, her cheeks had a definite tint, though her awkward smile was tottering between shy and regretful.

When she spoke again, her voice cracked with nerves. “Do you not… feel the same for me?”

“No, that’s not… it. I…” He breathed deeply, following her gaze out the window. “You… don’t make any sense.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

They fell out of conversation after that, neither wanting to be the first to face the question, “So what are we now?”.

The conversation didn’t return even as they stepped off the carriage and back onto the pavement. Whenever they tried to glance at the other, they looked away quickly again before they could catch each other’s gaze.

After a short distance, though, Searan decided to take his chances. Still looking away from her, he let his hand fall and brush against hers before hesitantly taking it. He felt her stiffen in surprise and was about to pull his hand away, but stopped when she took a step closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder as they walked in silence.

They do say actions speak louder than words; perhaps they had no words for each other at the time, but their “conversation” on the way home was plenty engaging enough as they made their way back to Saeyoung’s in silence, save for the gentle pattering of their footsteps…

But, they were quick to part before Saeyoung could get a glimpse of them together. Neither of them was quite ready to deal with that storm at the moment.

Oh, what a glorious storm it would be, though.


End file.
